This five-day workshop will introduce participants to the most important methods of estimating animal abundance in a rigorous but accessible way. In the first half of the workshop, we cover plot sampling, distance sampling, mark-recapture and removal methods. We explain the common key statistical concepts underlying the methods, use custom-written simulation software to understand how the methods work, and discuss which method to use when. In the second half, we focus on distance sampling in more detail. We discus practical issues such as use of the software Distance, field methods and survey design.

The workshop is aimed at anyone who needs to estimate wildlife density or abundance, and is taught by leading researchers from the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, Scotland.